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| BRP Gregorio del Pilar (Wiki Info) |
By Rodney Jaleco
WASHINGTON D.C. - A ranking Philippine Navy official said they will need more and bigger ships to protect the nation’s maritime borders miles away from one of the longest coastlines in the world.
Rear Admiral Jose Luis Alano, Philippine Fleet (PhilFleet) commander, said the country has no choice but to acquire ships like the US Coast Guard’s Hamilton-class cutters because of seasonal changes in the South China Sea that make it treacherous to smaller vessels about half of the time each year.
Alano and Armed Forces chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa formally accepted delivery of the USCGC Dallas, the 378-foot, 3,250-ton sister ship of the Hamilton that was turned over to the Philippine last year and rechristened the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, during formal rites in Charleston, South Carolina May 22.
Bigger ships, especially like the high-endurance, all-weather Hamilton-class cutters, can sail through huge waves and stay longer at sea, he explained.
Read the full story at ABS-CBN